The Cat and the Dragon
by Jakob der Ludner
Summary: On the far continent of Dia, a horde of Zoid warriors called the Liger Alliance rules the hapless people with an iron fist. There are few with the courage to stand up to it, but are they fighting the right side?


**The Cat and the Dragon**

By: Jakob der Ludner

Let's just get all the legal stuff over with-

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ZOIDS!!!

_Nikita Armstrong belongs to Raven ZERO_

_Izumi Hikage Twilight belongs to Dark Angel Himeko_

_Kathrine 'Shinigami' Taylor belongs to Animegirl74_

_Zack "Zero" Cooper belongs to DS-DarkSalamander_

_Natasha Hathcock, Keisuke Atami, Private Yamada, and Shinoyama belong to Philip Hadinata_

_Mallory Genji belongs to reesesluver_

_Aerio Omega belongs to Triad Orion_

_Koutarou Izakichi belongs to Elvish Nightmare (I CAN use him can't I?)_

_Rated PG-13 for consistent war violence. Rating might go up later if I decide to put more gore in there._

**Prologue: Era of Turmoil**

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_Boom!_

          An explosion goes off in the distance as a horde of Zoids thunder down a steep slope. Gojulases, Iron Kongs, Shield Ligers, Rev Raptors, Dark Horns, and every other Zoid imaginable was charging through as one. Their target: a considerably smaller group of Zoids on the farther side of the valley. The very ground shook under their enormous metallic feet, and shaking up their target.

          Their guns blazed and struck the cornered group dead center. Several Zoids rushed up to the helpless group and pummeled them into submission. The entire army surrounded and rolled over the doomed force, rolling over and eating away at the hapless Zoids like an army of ants over a sugar jar.

          Five Iron Kongs tore a Dark Horn to pieces, and a Rev Raptor was mercilessly trashed in the teeth of a Gojulas. Four Heldigunners were cruelly juggled in a hail of bullets, one exploding with a blast. This sent the other three flying. At once, two ligers and a Rev Raptor pounced on them and ripped at their sensitive undersides.

          At another end, a Cannon Tortoise was vainly holding off a dozen Ligers. The Ligers' Mk II equipment ripped at the thick armor, until finally a hole was punched through the turtle armor, and another whizzed in and set the ammo reserve aflame. This tore apart and melted the armor, and finally struck the Zoid core and consumed the hapless tortoise in a huge fireball.

          Meanwhile, a Gunblaster was cornered as well, firing furiously at the five Wild Weasel Gunsnipers facing it. It managed to take out two, leaving their smoldering bodies cockpit-less. But just as it was gearing up to fire at the other three, a Pteras swooped low and dropped a bomb on its guns. The bomb clattered for a while as it tumbled down the 21 barrels until it landed on the ammo storage. The blast ignited the weapons storage and ripped the Zoid to shreds.

          Two Blade Ligers bounded in and sliced the three Gunsnipers into halves. Right then, a Great Saber and two Heavy Beam Cannon equipped Cannon Tortoises bounded into the clearing. The Great Saber fired its missiles at the Blade Ligers. They deftly avoided them and extended their blades, rushing at the Great Saber with all their speed. When the two drew level with it, the Saber lashed out its tail, tripping them and sending them in a furious somersault through the air. The Cannon Tortoises made their mark and fired shell after shells into their torsos. The relentless shelling held the Zoids in the air for a while, suspended in a horrific butchering. As they clattered on the ground, the Great Saber made a large leap, and when it landed, both of its fore limbs crushed the cockpits of the Ligers

           At the end of the attack, only a Godos was left, surrounded by the whole of the army. It was already worn, but it took several shots more. At last, artillery shells punctured its torso, sending it into a wild spin downward into the ground. The pilot rushed out quickly, carrying a worn flag. It would have been a pure white, had there not been any grime on it. In the middle was blue hammer, held by a crimson fist, held in a position as to strike a nail in place or to pass judgement.

He whipped out a rifle and fired into the air, yelling a challenge. At once, he was met with several Zoid bullets that tore his exposed body apart, staining the flag he carried with blood and body parts

The torn flag fell to the ground, burning in a furious flame. As the tongues of flame ate away at the hammer and fist, the staff of a new flag was plunged into the ground. This one was a deep crimson, and had three Ligers in the middle: two blood red, one golden. They looked on, fangs bared in a gesture of aggression and challenge to battle. It was a regular day in this troubled year.

          It is the 43 L.C., the Liger Calendar. All the nomadic tribes of the far continent of Dia have united under the banner of the Liger Alliance. At first, this powerful horde of warriors promised peace between the warring colonies and tribes, uniting separated families and making friends of rival kings. The day that the first king of the Liger kingdom was crowned was when the calendar switched to L.C., marking the start of a new and glorious era. 

           That king was Cleodaeus Didaeon. Cleodaeus I brought a much-needed period of peace to the troubled land. The people prospered to a point where no one was poor, and no one person hated another. Indeed, it was the most prosperous kingdom of all time, on Dia at least. And such a king he was that was never seen on Dia, or even all of Zi. He treated his people as if they were his own siblings, and never once used his seat to gain an advantage over a warring lord.

          His people loved him back. They built him large palaces, the grandness of which rivaled the tombs of the old kings. Parades were held in his honor, almost every month. Feasts and Festivals were thrown whenever he were to come into town, and people would feel warm around his presence, as if he were a torch that warmed their long suffering souls.

The military was still the mainstay of the Alliance though, and its generals are still after power. Thus, it was on 15 L.C., after fifteen years of prosperity, that the military gathered to dethrone the great king. The warlords had grown restless, and wanted control over the kingdom, especially with the discovery of valuable resources to the north of the continent. These resources were in the control of an isolated tribe, which did not want to join the Alliance. King Cleodaeus wasn't pressuring the to join, much to the distaste of his generals who wanted to claim the resources for themselves. At last, after much fruitless advice and unsuccessful pursuing, the military had enough. With this, a coup d'etat was put into the works.

On October 28th, 16 L.C., a team of Helcats stormed the king's citadel in Diapolis, seeking to assassinate the king. But the king was nowhere to be found, leaving the throne open to anyone who would want to. The generals seized this chance immediately.

Their tyrannical desires overtook the prosperity of the kingdom. The people's freedoms were taken away, and taxes were raised, so that what Cleodaeus had built was crushed in the blink of an eye. Neutral tribes were conquered and their lands taken in force. Resources were madly abused and taken. Palaces were defiled and converted into bases of operation. And finally, all traces of the old king were removed and the fascist generals took the throne.

Most people opposed this, and revolts broke out in all corners of the kingdom. Even some in the ranks of the Alliance despised the actions of their own army, and so left and defected to the rebels. At last, the Victor City Rebellion of L.C. 21 forced the Liger Alliance to burn down the city, killing two million people. 

This struck the last spark in the Alliance, and a large group of soldiers declared themselves independent of the army and migrated to the far northern reaches of the continent. This group gathered all of the Alliance's enemies into one group: the Resistance. Vainly, the Resistance struggled to fight the all-powerful Alliance Army, but even though they couldn't win against the mighty force, they provided a light for the people. And so it was for the last 22 years. This is where my story takes place.

~

Yeah, okay. It's short, so what? It's a prologue people. Please R&R.

(For non-fanfiction.net readers, send any questions or comments to parakaydave@aol.com)

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